Francis Clifford Smith, believed to have been one of the longest-serving prisoners in the United States, died on June 25, 2026, at the age of 101. His life had been shaped for more than seven decades by a murder conviction, repeated legal appeals, a commuted death sentence, an escape, brief periods of parole, and eventually supervised release to a nursing facility. Smith spent the overwhelming majority of his adult life in the custody of the state of Connecticut.
America’s Oldest Inmate Dies at 101 After Seven Decades Behind Bars — His Unusual Prison Routine Draws Attention
